The exhausted futures of neoliberalism: from promissory legitimacy to social anomy

Abstract

The distinction between input-oriented legitimacy and output-oriented legitimacy (Scharpf, Fritz W, 1997. Economic Integration, Democracy and the Welfare State. Journal of European Public Policy, 4, 18–36) has been one of the most influential distinctions in political science. In this article I introduce a third arrangement supporting the legitimacy of political processes which I call promise-oriented legitimacy or, simply, promissory legitimacy. This term refers to the support political authority can gain from the credibility of promises political leaders make regarding future states of the world when justifying decisions and persuading others to follow them in their proposed course of action. Decisions gain support through claims about future development. Legitimacy crises arise if promises that were found credible become discredited and fail to motivate. I develop the concept of promissory legitimacy based on a discussion of what can be considered the most far-reaching political promissory regime of the last forty years: neoliberalism.